20 Years at FLVS

If you asked me 20 years ago where I saw myself in the future, I’m not sure I would have said I’d be at Florida Virtual School (FLVS) as a Communications Specialist. My love of writing came while in second grade when my teacher, Mrs. Kast, told me I was a natural writer, so the communications part fits. But 20 years ago, I did not have a clue what a virtual school was.

This article was originally written and published in the FLVS student newspaper, News in a Click.

It’s a fact! This year, FLVS is turning 20. It is crazy to believe that there have been 20 years of discussion based assessments, collaborations and, most importantly, 20 years of outstanding student success.

For many students, virtual school means different things. “I AM FLVS” is a phrase that makes every student think about how they represent their school. Continue reading

I started working at Florida High School (as FLVS was called in its early days) in January of 2000.

My interview was short and sweet…three questions. After I answered the questions, I was taken to the office of Julie Young, our first leader and online education pioneer, for a few more questions and the job offer. Continue reading

Back in the early days of FLVS, we all used to wear many hats. I was a course developer, teacher, district community liaison, legislative educator. Our IT support consisted of one person!

We did a lot of traveling to educate different organizations, schools, and community groups. We would set up lemonade stands at high school cafeterias to provide students with information about taking online classes. Continue reading

It was late 1997. A group of six teachers and four support personnel had spent five months learning about teaching online from any source we could find.

We were building courses in Lotus Learning Space, and preparing to register kids for this new thing called Florida High School. There had been tears, there had been elation, and there had been a lot of supposition about what teaching online meant.

We nervously sat around a small round conference table waiting for the phone to ring after we opened registration for the first time ever. We kept saying to each other, “If we build it, they will come,” but would students really want to try this? The “Web School” pilot in Orange County in the 1996-97 school year drew some students, so we had hope.

Finally, after an excruciating wait, the phone rang. We had our first student! Continue reading